Ana García-León

The Aggression Questionnaire: A validation study in student samples.

The goal of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) in Spain. The AQ is a 29-item instrument designed to measure the different dimensions of the hostility/anger/aggression construct. It consists of 4 subscales that assess: (a) anger, (b) hostility, (c) verbal aggression, and (d) physical aggression. In Study 1, reliability, construct validity, and convergent validity were evaluated in a group of 384 male and female university students. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using a group of 154 male and female university students. The results of the factor analysis were similar to the scale structure claimed for this instrument. The subscales also showed internal consistency and stability over time. The AQ and its subscales were also compared with the scales and subscales of the Spielberger State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (Ho), the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), and the Jenkins Activity Survey-Form H (JASE-H). The results show that the AQ evaluates some aspects of anger, such as Anger-Trait and Anger-Out, rather than other elements, such as Anger-In or Anger-State. In Study 2, two new male groups were used to evaluate the criterion validity of the AQ: 57 prison inmates and 93 university students, finding that this instrument discriminated between the scores obtained by common offenders and university students.

Relative effects of harassment, frustration, and task characteristics on cardiovascular reactivity.

Effects of anger induction procedures such as frustration and harassment on cardiovascular reactivity have been demonstrated in a wide range of experimental situations. Similarly, heightened cardiovascular reactivity has been associated with a diverse range of tasks involving active coping, competition and interpersonal interaction. The present study sought to directly compare the relative effects of these two important ways of inducing cardiovascular changes. One hundred and five university students performed two tasks that differed in the degree of active coping and interpersonal competition: a competitive psychomotor task and a problem-solving task. States of anger were induced during both tasks by means of harassment, frustration or frustration+harassment. Task-related changes in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse volume amplitude and respiratory sinus arrhythmia amplitude were monitored. The competitive psychomotor task produced greater cardiovascular reactivity than did the problem-solving task. Harassment and frustration+harassment provoked more cardiovascular reactivity than did frustration alone. However, harassment and frustration+harassment had the greatest cardiovascular effects in the competitive task, whereas frustration had the greatest cardiovascular effects in the problem-solving task. In this sense, the increases on cardiovascular reactivity seem to depend on the interaction between anger induction procedures and the context in which anger is provoked.

A controlled study of the Big Five personality dimensions in sex offenders, non-sex offenders and non-offenders: relationship with offending behaviour and childhood abuse

Although personality traits such as those measured by the Five Factor Model are influenced by childhood abuse history, these associations have often been hindered by a lack of clinical controls. This study examined the independent influence of childhood abuse on the personality of sex offenders, non-sex offenders and control participants. We found Neuroticism higher in offenders generally, whereas non-sex offenders and control participants had higher Extraversion than sex offenders; Agreeableness differed between control and non-sexual offenders. Participants with abusive childhoods were higher in Neuroticism and Openness than individuals with non-abusive childhoods. This study improves on limitations of previous studies examining these questions. These findings suggest offence type is useful for differentiating offenders, and that Neuroticism and Openness traits are most influenced by a history of childhood abuse.

Childhood abuse history differentiates personality in sex offenders

This study examines the influence of abuse in childhood in the personality of Spanish adult sex offenders. Fifty sex offenders were evaluated using the NEO-Five Factor Inventory and a brief interview for the experience of childhood abuse. Sex offenders who had experienced a abusive childhood had higher scores for neuroticism and openness, and lower scores for conscientiousness, whereas child molesters who had experienced abusive childhoods were higher in openness; sex offenders against adults who had abusive childhoods had higher neuroticism than sex offenders against adults without abusive childhoods. These findings indicate that childhood experience differentiates characteristic profiles of normal personality traits in sex offenders by their offence type. The type of childhood is a more theoretically meaningful construct than the type of sex offence committed by which to infer differences in normal personality traits among sexual offenders.

Toward a neuropsychology of personality in sex offenders against children: an exploratory psychometric study.

Little is known about the relationship between neuropsychological functioning and normal personality in sex offenders. The aim of this study was to examine the relations between personality traits and executive functioning in child molesters. The NEO-Five Factor Inventory was used to assess personality, and the Trail Making Test (parts A and B) was used to assess executive functioning in a sample of child molesters (n = 33). We found the time required to complete Trail Making Test part A significantly predicted Extraversion scores, whereas the time to complete Trail Making Test part B significantly predicted Openness scores. Brief measures of executive functioning can thus predict the score in Extraversion and Openness in child molesters. These personality traits may be related to the functioning of brain areas implicated in having to complete the Trail Making Test.

A cross-cultural comparison of criminological characteristics and personality traits in sexual offenders against children: study in Spain and the United Kingdom

The aims of this study were to examine the existence of possible differences in criminological characteristics and normal personality traits for child molesters from two different cultures (Spain and the United Kingdom). We used the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) to assess personality, whereas criminological characteristics comprised prior convictions, the relation of the offender top the victim, the age range of victims and the victims gender. Comparisons revealed differences in personality but not for any criminological characteristics. These findings suggest that Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness differ between child molesters from different countries, whereas the nature of the offences is compatible. Finally, this study is one of the first to compare male child molesters between different countries.

Variables relacionadas con la tentativa suicida en una provincia de España durante tres años (2009-2011)

The aim was to identify and describe socio demographic and clinical variables in individuals who have made a suicide attempt. An analysis of electronically stored records on persons admitted to the emergency departments of a northern health district during the period 2009-2011 for mental disorders was conducted. The records of 826 patients (30.1% of the total), where 485 (58.7%) were female, aged between 14 and 94 years (M = 49.3; SD = 12.7), were selected. This amounted to 412 individuals (49.9%) who had made a suicide attempt, and were compared with others without prior suicide attempt. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the strongest predictors of suicide attempt. The results show that the risk of making a suicide attempt increases with age, those most at risk being aged 34 to 53 years (p < 0.01; OR = 6.99), female (p < 0.05; OR = 2.70) and unemployed (p < 0.05; OR = 4.98). The most predictive psychopathological diagnoses for suicide attempt were anxiety disorders (p < 0.01; OR = 3.95) and impulse control disorders/addictions (p < 0.01; OR = 3.76). The importance of creating specific risk and protection profiles when implementing contextualized health policies on suicide attempt prevention is discussed.